ATLANTA — Funding was approved for the City of Atlanta to purchase and hand out free gun lock boxes to increase firearm responsibility and safety, according to a councilman at a recent meeting.
Atlanta Councilman Antonio Lewis proposed legislation in January aimed at preventing guns from being stolen and preventing accidental shootings. It's estimated 54% of gun owners do not securely lock up all of their firearms.
This week, Lewis announced the city would receive $227,746 from a federal grant to purchase the gun lock boxes.
"We're a gun totting community." Lewis said.
The councilman added that he typically brings his gun as long as it's allowed, but where it isn't, it's important to have a safe place to store them. He met with 11Alive at Cleveland Avenue Barbershop in his district, where the business does not allow firearms inside the shop.
"I have a cousin who had a gun stolen from this barbershop (parking lot), so I'm thinking about folks like that," he said.
He said that's why this initiative is so important to him because he wants to ensure gun owners are responsible. A gun owner himself admitted, "When I purchased my first firearm, I didn’t purchase a gun lock box with it."
Those ideals changed once he tied the knot, and his wife admitted she was not a big fan of guns.
Lewis hopes this initiative will help cut down on trends law enforcement often see across the city. That being guns stolen from vehicles and then later used in violent crimes.
Recently, we've seen several youths seriously hurt or killed by irresponsible gun owners.
Most recently, King Black, a 9-year-old in East Point, was shot and killed by another child. Police say the child was playing with a loaded Glock handgun inside a home, and the gun accidentally discharged. King was standing outside the front door, and the bullet hit him in the chest.
On Friday, we got an update on a 3-year-old Amir Porter, who got a hold of a handgun and ended up with a gunshot wound right above his eye.
It happened in January inside a Douglasville motel where Amir was staying with his dad at the time.
Amir's mom, Sierra Scott, sent the following update on her little guy:
"As of today my miracle baby is up running around with much energy thanks to the man above. My son had a traumatic brain injury. He had to learn how to walk and talk all over again and for that to happen to him he still has all his memories. He can tell you his name, age, birthday, he still knows all his colors and numbers.
There is not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for covering my baby from the top of his head to the soul of his feet. I just want to say to all gun owners especially with kids in the household to purchase gun locks. Me personally, I don’t think a gun should even be sold without a gun lock purchased.
No parent should have to ever experience the pain that I recently went through. Put all gun out of these kids reach!"
Lewis said their next step is to find a vendor to purchase the gun lock boxes. They believe the grant will cover between 9,000 - 11,000 gun lock boxes. Those looking to get one must be residents of the City of Atlanta to receive a free box.
Anyone interested in getting help securing their firearm can contact Project ChildSafe, which partners with many local law enforcement agencies to provide free cable-style gun locks. Find an agency nearby here.